The National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest), the country’s leading assessment reform organization, today issued the following statement in response to the Obama Administration’s announcement of criteria for a new grant competition:

“From a testing reform perspective, today's announcement of an "Enhanced Assessment Grants" competition is far too little and way too late. After wasting $360 million of taxpayer money to fund two Common Core testing consortia whose products most states have rejected, the Obama Administration is now touting a much smaller $8.6 million pot to divvy up among jurisdictions that want to improve assessment. In fact, many states and districts have already responded to grassroots assessment reform pressure by cutting back testing requirements and reducing high-stakes misuses. Compared to these local efforts, the Administration's plan is both trivial and delayed so long that it will have little impact on the upcoming school year. Moreover, the money is woefully inadequate to support the comprehensive overhaul state assessment systems really need."